Monday, January 28, 2008

Beating me to the punch, Frank Isola (at the News) wrote in his official "blog" that Charles Oakley should have his number retired too if the Garden is extending that honor to Adam Graves, probably the fourth-best player on the Rangers championship squad in 1994. Obviously, I couldn't agree more about putting aside "34" and had the same thought when I heard Brian Leetch make the announcement the other night about Graves upcoming honor.

If you missed the Leetch ceremony then you should see if you can catch it re-aired on MSG. You had Brian Leetch out on the ice, be-suited and blushing his way through his own speech and, then, he tells the crowd that he has a very special announcement to make. The excitement was palpable and Leetch had the pleasure to let his teammate, who was in the house, know that he too would get his number up in the rafters.

I know that Graves was part of a championship team but Oakley was the soul (Ewing was the heart) and the conscience of a decade's worth of great Knicks basketball. And, seeing his number besmirched by Curry on a nightly basis makes me feel even more certain that it should be retired from circulation. He is as singular a Knick as there ever will be and his example (on the court) is something that players should measure themselves against every time they put on the team colors.

I'm putting together some numbers and we'll get back to this later in the week.

**

And, that's really all I've got on the newspaper front. I don't know if it's the rise to .500 ball or if it's because Dolan and his goons have literally scared them away but the beat reporters covering the team have been very quiet the past week or so.